International, Media, Politics, Science

Red Flags: Chinese Laboratory in Wuhan Cited Two Years Ago For Dangerous Research On Bats and Coronavirus

1600px-Coronaviruses_004_loresWhen the coronavirus first appeared in Wuhan, China, many people immediately raised the concern that it might have been the result of a lab release from a controversial Chinese Lab: the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The lab was working on coronavirus and had raised concerns over its containment protocols.  Then there was the fact that China hid the outbreak, arrested top doctors, and buried research on its origins.  However, a narrative quickly emerged in countering President Donald Trump’s references to the “China virus.”  People, including members of Congress, who referred to the lab were ridiculed on CNN and other outlets as conspiracy theorists.  For some of us, the overwhelming media narrative seemed odd and artificial. It would seem obvious that a lab working on viruses in this area would be an obvious possible source.  Now, after weeks of chastising those who mentioned the lab theory, another cache of documents and information shows that there are ample reasons to be suspicious and that concerns were raised two years ago within the State Department.

The Washington Post reported  that embassy officials in January 2018 alerted U.S. officials of serious problems in the lab which was conducting risky research on bats, the very source of COVIT-19. The United Kingdom has issued a statement  that they are seriously considering the lab as a possible source.

The first cable on Jan.19, 2018 flagged serious problems at a lab dealing with the world’s most dangerous viruses:  “During interactions with scientists at the WIV laboratory, they noted the new lab has a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory.”

The cables discuss Shi Zhengli, the head of the research project, who in November 2017 published a paper on horseshoe bats collected from a case in Yunnan province. That is the same bat population behind the first SARS coronavirus in 2003.  The cable stated

“the researchers also showed that various SARS-like coronaviruses can interact with ACE2, the human receptor identified for SARS-coronavirus. This finding strongly suggests that SARS-like coronaviruses from bats can be transmitted to humans to cause SARS-like diseases. From a public health perspective, this makes the continued surveillance of SARS-like coronaviruses in bats and study of the animal-human interface critical to future emerging coronavirus outbreak prediction and prevention.”

Sound familiar?
The point is not that this proves that the virus originated in the lab. Rather, my interest is the overwhelming media narrative that emerged to deny that this was a credible potential source.  That narrative emerged around the time that the media was hammering Trump for his use of “China virus” and “Wuhan virus.”  That criticism was enhanced by the argument that the virus developed naturally.  That could still be the case but it never seemed rational to me to discount the lab theory.
What is most amazing is that, if the Chinese allowed this virus to escape and then arrested doctors raising the alarm over the spread, it would be one of the greatest stories of our lifetime: a world pandemic caused by human error.  Millions have been infected and thousands have died. If the cause was negligence by a totalitarian nation (that ignored warnings and punished doctors), this would be a story of the century. Suddenly magazines care saying that they are now thinking about the “unthinkable.”  Yet, it was never truly unthinkable was it?
Yesterday, CNN aired stories on the cables without acknowledging that its prior coverage dismissing the theory.  CNN was not alone.  This is why the public has lost such faith in the media.  It is not because the media has confronted Trump, who often makes reckless and false statements.  It is the sense of the coverage is being shaped constantly shaped an agenda separate from the merits of these stories.  Many commentators and journalists worked too hard to dismiss the lab as a potential source.  When members of Congress raised the theory, they were mocked as “still” talking about a theory that groups declared as wholly invalid.

There is a story here. Not just on whether the lab was the source of the outbreak but whether the media blinded itself to that possibility.

229 thoughts on “Red Flags: Chinese Laboratory in Wuhan Cited Two Years Ago For Dangerous Research On Bats and Coronavirus”

  1. I can tell you honestly in surveying the local general populous, the consensus assessment in gauging Fed reaction appeared to be nothing short of “suspected bioweapon.” That’s what most here in New York believed. And I don’t think that’s unreasonable given media reports that the Chinese have had a bioweapons factory at this location for some fifty years. Even more disturbing were reports that State Dept had awarded a multi-million-dollar grant to finance this bat “research.”. Why has media not addressed these reports? To either refute or substantiate? As damning as these reports would appear, how can they, why would they, choose to ignore them? Why is it that U.S. public media always assumes they are a primary source? When in fact the Net has been the primary source of virtually all for decades now?

    Simply dismissing such reports as born of rabid “conservativism” in an effort to suppress will not quiet the tens of thousands who’ve lost loved ones, nor the tens of millions who’ve long ago committed to independently minded rational thought.

    We want answers! And we will get them!

  2. I can tell you honestly in surveying the local general populous, the consensus assessment in gauging Fed reaction appeared to be nothing short of “suspected bioweapon.” That’s what most here in New York believed. And I don’t think that’s unreasonable given media reports that the Chinese have had a bioweapons factory at this location for some fifty years. Even more disturbing were reports that State Dept had awarded a multi-million-dollar grant to finance this bat “research.”. Why has media not addressed these reports? To either refute or substantiate? As damning as these reports would appear, how can they, why would they, choose to ignore them? Why is it that U.S. public media always assumes they are a primary source? When in fact the Net has been the primary source of virtually all for decades now?

    Simply dismissing such reports as born of rabid “conservativism” in an effort to suppress will not quiet the tens of thousands who’ve lost loved ones, nor the tens of millions who’ve long ago committed to independently minded rational thought.

    These questions are not going away; we want answers! And we will get them!

  3. It is disrespectful to refer the that town when describing “the Chinc virus”.

    1. Historically, illnesses have been named based on where it originated. Spanish flu, West Nile virus, German measles, Ebola, Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever – are just several examples. There is a history of centuries where this emanates from.

      Pretending there is a disrespectful intent here is wrong but I suspect it is yours and others’ objective.

  4. Genome science has proven Covid 19 to be a naturally occurring event. 2/3’s of the Covid + cases in NY arrived from European strains. And viruses explode in areas with no naturally occurring immunity, meaning when one hitchhikes in from *somewhere else* and the local immune response is weak it explodes into a monster, Which also means when CV-19 hit Wuhan from another location it found it’s pandemic take off point, not origin.

    Important to check in with some facts from Earth 1 on the matter…

    But good to see you’re not letting the opportunity to jump on the Wuhan/Chinese virus trope go by without jumping on from a safe distance, Jon.

    Hmmm…, wonder if we should check back with this article when further genome tracing proves CV-19 was in the States last year and was just categorized as “unexplained pneumonia”. At which point it will be considered just as likely the virus arrived in China by way of the U.S.

    But as we know from Trump, Professor…, branding is king. Good job in keeping up with social trends.

    1. Elvis J – true, the majority of the early cases in NYC came from Europe. However, those cases came from China. You have to go to Patient O.

    2. “Genome science has proven Covid 19 to be a naturally occurring event”

      So? What’s your point? Labs use research animals.

    3. @Elvis J Naturally occurring event only means it wasn’t manufactured from scratch or off the backbone of another virus. It doesn’t mean it came into contact with humans first at the wet market as opposed to the lab yards away where they were gathering infected bats from all over. It also doesn’t mean one of the scientists described as getting bled on and pissed on by bats didn’t carry it out and infect other people due to lack of controls.

      The lab got cited by the state department in 2018 due to the threat of them causing a pandemic to be released due to improper safety measures, then a pandemic originates nearby and you’re ready to turn a blind eye to the lab? Besides what are the odds of a disease which lays undetected for 2 weeks at a time, spreads by breathing, is contagious enough to infect millions the world over in a matter of weeks and kills around 3% of the infected while hospitalizing 10%, showing up randomly yards from such a lab running tests on the very animal cited as the source?

      If you have a lab with bats carrying SARS, Ebola, AIDS, Malaria etc intermixing and bleeding on people open mouthed, the odds of one of them carrying something out on their shoe that shouldn’t be around people is pretty high. And that same lab is reopened without any additional controls (so is the wet market) so we’re doomed for a more lethal repeat the way your CCP advocacy is going…

  5. And the left chides when Trump refers to them as fake news. I wonder why he would feel that way? When will the pundits of the left admit what frauds they are?

  6. There is also a recent study done at the Wuhan hospital where the virus was i Italy treated that showed viral contamination on virtually every surface, most notably, in areas where no patients were allowed. The implication here should not be that “those Chinese” are sloppy. The conclusion should be that the same is true in all hospitals. That in fact hospitals and medical personnel may have aided in the viral spread. Guessing there will ensue actual lawsuits concerning all these “finding”, all of which are quickly written and hastily published, wherein negligence will be tested, but also scientific irresponsibility for publishing unfounded conclusions

  7. There is a story here. Not just on whether the lab was the source of the outbreak but whether the media blinded itself to that possibility.

    You’re being too kind to them. This is not merely media malpractice, this is an active disinformation campaign by United States media organizations that every hostile foreign power could only dream of. Our first amendment should not be a license to do actual harm to our national security. Enough with simply calling these media outlets fake news. Treat them as enemies of the state that they are.

    1. Olly, JT specializes in vague attacks on media strawmen and does so here. The one link to Politifact isn’t about the virus’s origins, bu nut job conspiracy theories about intent with bio weapons. Google “China hiding covid-19” and see the articles over the last few months from “media” including Bloomberg, WaPo, etc. JT is selling BS sloppy thinking which is also irrelevant – no, the virus will not be renamed the “China virus”. If he wants to post on the facts of what happened in China and what that means for the future, good.

      1. Oh, the PRC had a covert bioweapons program that they revealed to international inspectors under various treaties many years ago. I don’t think that has anythign to do with the wuhan sars cov 2.

        however, there is such a thing as “dual use research” and “gain of function” research on modifying virus DNA could certainly be “weaponized.” Which is precisely why the safety protocols are supposed to be so vigorous.

        The more likely intersection beteween the Wuhan bsl 4 lab– they got a level 2 lab there too btw– and the wetmarket? accidental release somehow

        they may have already had the lab under study at that lab and it got loose.

        like, it emerged from nature; the Wuhan lab had it secretly under study; and then it just got loose. this is a hypothesis that appears to be more credible now than oh a couple months ago when I floated it. yes, that was a “conspiracy theory” i dared to advance here, merely as hypothesis. so maybe now its a lot more credible than it was then. we will see, it seems the whole thing is heating up.

        one key question:

        patient zero may have been as early as mid november? just heard this, looking for a source.

      2. Let’s see, is JT selling BS, or is btb selling BS? JT…btb…JT…btb…JT…btb. Oh, who am I kidding, of course btb.

  8. I think it’s time to start examining intent in addition to gross recklessness by China as well. By that I mean that once the virus got to a certain point in China, the perverted cost/benefit analysis of the totalitarian regime occurred.

    Asking for help from the international community, and admitting you cannot handle your own affairs cannot be tolerated. Hiding failure and incompetence by the regime is worth an indeterminate number of lives.

    In addition, there came a point at which cooperation with other countries meant that those other countries might be affected less by the disease. And that is a net minus for the totalitarian regime.

    https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/did-xi-jinping-deliberately-sicken-the-world/

  9. These alleged cables do not establish that there were problems in the Chinese labs. E. Howard Hunt forged fake cables in order to implicate President Kennedy in the assassination of South Vietnam’s President Diem. It would be more convincing if we saw cables between american officials and chinese officials. I would not put it past the CIA to have forged these cables in order to implicate Chinese malfeasance in the development of COVID-19.

    “In September 1971, Hunt forged and offered to a Life magazine reporter two top-secret U.S. State Department cables designed to prove that President Kennedy had personally and specifically ordered the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother, Ngô Đình Nhu.”

    WIKIPEDIA

  10. Did you see Bill Gates’ simulation of a coronavirus pandemic, presented under the auspices of The New England Journal of medicine, released in 2019? It did not point to labs as a source, rather it focused on the live animal meat markets, wherein countless wild species are in closed, unsanitary spaces. From this there arose the conspiracy theory that the lab Bill Gates funded to do the research produced the virus (they did in fact, patent a coronavirus), and that the whole pandemic was engineered. The response was that Gates had not funded that patent work. Again, a sort of weak media response, to a fairly hot accusation. Is it not plausible to consider the enormous economic returns possible, for a private foundation who owned a patent on coronavirus? It doesn’t have to be a conspiracy theory, and there does not need to be inviolable proof, to entertain investigative plausibility in these cases.

  11. Wuhan Virus/Coronavirus was leaked from the labs. China has never been honest with the World. They refuse to come clean and share info. Patient 0 still has not been ID to the World
    19 of the original 41 people, in Wuhan, had no association with the Wet Market. They sell no bats in the Market.

    China has silenced those scientist, in China, who first reported and discovered the virus and any other scientist who tries to make public the info. They all seem to disappear??

    China needs to be held liable by the World and PAY for all damages.

    CNN, MSNBC, NY TIMEs and other MSM, continue to soft peddle the story but little by little they are now slowly exposing the truth? MSM hates Trump so much, they took China’s side. Along with the Dem’s, like Chris Murphy Sen. from Conn, saying we do not need to investigate, wonder what his $$$$$ interest is????

  13. “a world pandemic caused by human error”

    *********************************************************
    Here’s a question for budding novelists and screenwriters: What if it wasn’t an error?

    When Deng Xiaoping visited the US in 1979, he was asked if he would allow Chinese citizens to emigrate. His response: How many do you want? 10 million….20 million?

    The Chinese Communist government has brought the world to a screeching halt without firing a shot. Even if you accept the highest estimate of Chinese deaths due to the virus the number represents a tiny fraction of China’s population.,

    So why release the dogs of war when all you have to do is release a “bug.”

    1. The flaw in this theory is misunderstanding the CCP as a strategic national leader. Now maybe it does have that function by default in the one party state.

      But I see it more of a mafia that is mostly about extracting bribes from the productive element of Chinese society.

      I think that if all the CCP officials that have seen their bribe incomes dry up with stalled economic activity thought that Comrade Xi was behind a deliberate leak of the virus, they would unite and hang him from a lamp-pole by sunset.

  14. Of course the media won’t ever criticize china. These virtue signalling and greedy psychopaths see 1.4 billion future or present consumers.

    Americans need to send a message to all of our corporations. We will not buy anything made in or assembled in china.

    Just look at your barcodes. If the first 3 numbers are 690-695 , the product is from china … so do not buy it. Some manufacturers like Apple get cute by assembling products in china but claiming they originate elsewhere.

    Why send your hard earned dollars to an evil communist country that send you its chinese virus?

  15. The possibility that the virus came from the lab – it either came from there or the wet market in Wuhan – is irrelevant to the insistence of political types – not scientists – that it be labeled the “China Virus”. Even it’s main promoter – Trump for obvious and typical blame shifting reasons – has dropped the campaign after “talking” with Premier Xi. They must have made a deal our president couldn’t refuse. Trying to rename it is completely counterproductive during a worldwide pandemic in which we are still working with China and others, though that’s seems to be JT’s specialty column.

    2. The possibility that the virus came from the lab – it either came from there or the wet market in Wuhan – is irrelevant to the insistence of political types – not scientists – that it be labeled the “China Virus”.
      *****************************

      Hahahaha. A classic! Let’s call it the “Left Loves America’s Rivals Virus.” More descriptive.

    3. calling it china virus is a waste of energy and distraction, and trolling in both directions. ignore it. sars cov 2 is the proper name, wuhan virus is another name that a lot of people including the PRC uses, i think that’s a good name with a sort of precise geographical emergence point, if sars cov 2 is too complicated.

      china virus is a weak name because yes china is chock full of virus problems anyhow, not specific enough

      that is not the point of Turley’s article however.

      1. The value of calling it the China Virus is that the name allows us to remember its origin and the deceit of the Chinese government and WHO in concealing its danger. Call it Covid-19 and in a year nobody will know. Who knows the likely origin of H1N1 today?

        China wants us to forget and that is why they are trying so hard to change the name and why their allies in the media are helping to erase the connection.

        Notice that the media did not get particularly upset when China falsely said the virus originated with the American military. They reserved their outrage for anyone truthfully saying it came from China.

        They are feeding us Newspeak.

        1. Young, come out the cave. Your side lost. It’s “Covid-19” or “corona virus 2”. I guess you can call it what you want with your pals at the CJ however.

  16. The fact that this lab is so close to the wet market also makes it suspicious.

  17. It’s not the crime but the cover-up.
    The Communist Party controls the Script.
    Hence we will NEVER know.

  18. I’m surprised it’s taken so long for the news to make the rounds. Scientist Botao Xiao has an article he withdrew cited by the Washington Post months ago listing the Lab as a likely source given lack of controls, bats urinating and bleeding on the head of a man etc as they studied pathogens including the coronavirus. It’s yards from the supposed epicenter and China ruled the wet market out back in February.

    The news media continues to peddle the market SS a story while the Chinese government tries to blame us for it. The liberal and conservative media are terrible with this. The former buys whatever China’s selling and the latter pretends it’s a hoax designed to oust Trump. Meanwhile neither side takes it as seriously as they should and China reopens both the lab and the market with no additional controls on either.

  19. But but but but . . . FOXNews!

    The gullible Democrats who WANT to believe the Main Stream Media will continue to believe them no matter how obvious the bias and propaganda coming from them is.

    Democrats are pretty much oblivious cult members nowadays.

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

    1. Trump cult members are dangerous. Read what has been written…..warnings in 2018. Where was the beloved orange leader when those came in? None of the “China” talking points were uttered to improve the situation but rather to shield the great orange one from blame. No no look over there. Those bad Chinese.

      Remember, we are told, the problem isn’t a self centered, mean sprinkled, ignorant grifter in the White House. ITS THE MEDIA,

      Give me a brake.

      1. Dear Holmes – you ask where President Trump was when warnings came in in 2018? Well, he, his lawyers and staff were busy trying to run a country while at the same time swatting away the never-ending and totally fake collusion, obstruction and impeachment instigators/prevaricators that haven’t stopped since before he took office.

        1. You’re expecting our liberal trolls to have integrity and a sense of agency. Ha ha.

        2. Deb, the Mueller report established collusion, recommended 10 obstruction of justice charges and the impeachment case confirmed the WB complaint while adding even worse details – like a public announcement by the Ukraine without an actual investigation would be enough to release the withheld funds appropriated by Congress – and was stopped only by the GOP majority disallowing witnesses in a Senate impeachment hearing for the 1st time in our long history. Sadly, our president is a lying crook and grifter enabled by a GOP too scared to uphold constitutional principles.

          1. Deb, the Mueller report established collusion,

            You keep pressing on as if telling brazen lies over and over is a useful activity.

            1. Look it up and read doofus. No, Ace of Spades or whatever other crackpot source you read won’t have it.

              1. You and Natacha keep running this meme on continuous loop without ever saying who colluded with who toward what end. Yes, we noticed.

                As for the ‘obstruction charges’, you expect us to take seriously the assertion that the president is culpable for obstructing Weissman’s obstruction investigation. (And firing an employee who had lied to him).

                The character defect which is the source of this hooey from you has been delineated by others.

                1. you expect us to take seriously the assertion that the president is culpable for obstructing Weissman’s obstruction investigation.

                  You nailed it DSS. He and the others pushing this assertion while completely ignoring documented facts of a criminal conspiracy to defraud FISC, spy on American citizens, a presidential campaign, transition team and presidency is why this blog gaggle is as contemptible as one could imagine.

                  “New evidence shows that James Comey’s FBI knew that the Trump Campaign didn’t hack the DNC. But they kept spying anyways. Shameful,” the House Judiciary GOP’s Twitter account said.

                  Mueller, too, is on their radar. Soon after Comey was fired by Trump in May 2017, Mueller was appointed to be the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation. Dubbed a “witch hunt” by Trump and his allies, Mueller’s team did not find a criminal conspiracy between the Trump team and Russia but did lay out possible instances of obstruction of justice that were seized on by Democrats last spring.
                  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/declassified-notes-in-fisa-report-have-gop-investigators-asking-about-james-comey-and-robert-mueller

          2. Uh-huh. Just like Justice Holmes is a real judge. Pinocchio at least knew he was made of wood. On that note: how do you avoid impaling people in the eye during a conversation with that schnoz? On the plus side, social distancing must be a breeze.

            1. Pinocchio at least knew he was made of wood. On that note: how do you avoid impaling people in the eye during a conversation with that schnoz? On the plus side, social distancing must be a breeze.

              Bam! This was very very good.

              Wish we could pin the comment by James at the top of the website. Add a gif image of lighter fluid and the trolls on here would catch flame ala spontaneous combustion

              Darren, that’s your cue

              😉

      2. Do you mean brake as in a cessation of the haranguing of Trump. or a break as in let us break the monopoly of the left with regard to the media and education industries?

    2. Yup. The left have always been privileged, arrogant, and greedy in this country, but the very public version of their Commandments is new. It is the height of irony to me that they dog the churches. 😉

      As with any members of s cult, it sends them into convulsions whenever anyone dares to have an independent thought. That’s the difference: to folks like ‘Justice’ Holmes (I am highly doubtful of the moniker) I am a reprobate beyond redemption and I must be silenced or marginalized or worse. For myself: I could honestly give a crap about what he or she believes in. I will go about my day. I do not let others rent space in my head.

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